Drapery bracket



W. C. KENNEY DRAPERY BRACKET Oct. 15, 1957 Filed May 15. 1953 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM C. KENNEY ATTORNEYS DRAPERY BRACKET William C. Kenney, Cranston, R. L, assignor to Kenney Manufacturing Company, Cranston, R. L, a corporation of Rhode- Island Application May 15, 1953, Serial No. 355,249

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-263) Thisinvention relates to curtain rod brackets and more particularly to brackets for cylindrical curtain rods.

Cylindrical rods are employed for many types of drapery installations. Their cylindrical shape renders them strong, light and easy to handle, as well as being good in appearance. Generally, cylindrical rods are provided with brass or other metal ferrules at each end in order to provide a smooth end for insertion into the curtain and also to provide a strong element for attachment to a support bracket. While cylindrical rods have these and other desirable features, certain disadvantages related to the support brackets hitherto employed with them have inhibited a more general acceptance of them in the industry. In the first place, since the rods are somewhat resilient, it is desirable to anchor the ends in such a way as to provide a positive support against downward tilting or sagging. Conventional brackets of the open cylinder or semi-circular socket type are not suitable for this purpose because the only resistance to sagging is provided by the spring compression of the socket walls in the area where the socket grips the ferrule. Furthermore, after periods of extended use the socket walls open up relaxing the said spring compression, thereafter there is no resistance at all to tilting. This is also the case with certain other types of brackets for supporting rods in which the ferrule is provided with a stud extension having a flat boss or upset head thereon. In these latter arrangements, a spring tongue abuts the end of the flat boss and tends to resist downward tilting or sagging of the rod, but here again, after extended use the spring tongue recedes and permits the rod to sag without restraint. Another disadvantage present in both of the above-mentioned conventional brackets relates to the provision for locking the rod in place. One type grips the sides of the ferrule, and the other presses against the end of the boss, and after the spring elements of both become relaxed through use, no locking feature remains. A third disadvantage relating primarily to the socket type of bracket is seen where extensible or telescoping rods are employed. Special provision must be made with this type of bracket to anchor the ferrule against longitudinal motion.

My invention is primarily directed towards cylindrical curtain rods which are provided with ferrules at each end and which have flat headed studs extending therefrom for purposes of supporting the rod on the bracket. An important object of my invention is to provide a bracket which will support such a rod positively against downward tilting or sagging at the bracket connection.

A further object of my invention is to provide a bracket for such a rod which will lock the rod in place, but in which the effectiveness of the locking features will not be impaired or diminished by extended use of the bracket.

In the accomplishment of these and other objects of my invention in a preferred embodiment thereof, I employ a cylindrical curtain rod which may, or may not,

be of the extensible or telescoping type. Each end of the rod is reinforced with a ferrule and is provided with a States Patent 51cc Patented Oct. 15, 1957 stud extending longitudinally from the ferrule along the center axis of the rod. The said stud is provided with a flat boss or upset head thereon for purposes of securing the rod in the bracket. The bracket of my invention is mounted on a base plate which is secured to a window frame or the like. A bracket supporting flange or arm extends outwardly from the base plate and a U-shaped bracket is mounted on the said flange by means of a web extending from the flange to the bracket.

It is a feature of my invention that the U-shaped bracket has'two upwardly extending portions or arms one of which is integral with and supported along its length by the said web. In this way one of the portions of the bracket is rigidly supported and provides a positive resistance to downward tilting of the rod.

It is a further feature of my invention that the other portion or arm of said U-shaped bracket is free and provides a resilient locking element for said rod.

Still another feature of my invention is the provision of a double support flange bracket by means of which two curtain rods may be mounted with special provision for returning the end of a curtain around the bracket to a position adjacent to the wall.

Additional objects and features of my invention wil best be understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view in front elevation of various types of curtain arrangements supported by the brackets of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the bracket of my invention equipped for supporting two rods;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the bracket of my invention adapted to support one rod and a window 1 v shade;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a telescoping cylindrical curtain invention;

' Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the double support flange bracket of my invention adapted to return the end of the curtain to a position adjacent to the wall;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of a modified form of the bracket of my invention. in which the support flange is short;

Fig. 7 is a view in perspective of a modification of the bracket of my invention in which the U-shaped bracket elements are formed integrally with the end of the support flange; and

Fig. 8 is a further modification of the bracket of my invention in which the support flange is secured to the wall by means of a pair of offset flanges extending above and below the bracket.

The preferred embodiment of my invention herein shown employs a cylindrical rod it which may, or may not, be of the telescoping type. At each end of the rod ferrules 12 are provided, and extending longitudinally from these ferrules are a pair of flat headed studs 14. in its general organization it comprises a base plate 16, a bracket supporting flange or arm 18 extending outwardly from said base plate, and a U-shaped bracket indicated generally at 20 mounted on said flange 13.

The U-shaped bracket 20 is provided with a pair of upwardly extending portions 22 and 24 connected across the base by a transverse section 26 and connected to the support flange 18 by a vertically extending web 28 which supports the portion 24 along its entire length. In this position the U-shaped bracket Ztl defines a narrow slot between itself and the support flange 18. In this arrangement, therefore, it will be seen that when the studs 14 are lodged in the U-shaped brackets 20, the portion 24, being supported along its length by the web 28, provides r 3 a positive and rigid support against downward tilting or sagging of the rod 10. The studs 14 are locked in the U-shape brackets 20 by means of an inwardly bent end 30 of the portion 22 of the bracket 20. This is accomplished by having the space between the inwardly bent portion 36 and the support flange 18 substantially narrower than the width of the head of the stud 14. It will be noted, however, that when the stud 14 is fully lodged in the U-shaped bracket 20 the head of the stud 14 will have lodged below the inward extension 30 and thus the portion 22 will not remain under spring tension during periods of use. In this way the locking feature is protected and particularly since the portion 24 resists downward tilting of the rod, there is no danger that the locking feature will become useless through relaxation of the spring tension.

With reference to Fig. 2, it will be seen that I may provide two U-shaped brackets 20 on a single support flange 18. By this latter modification, only the end of the outer curtain may be drawn around the support flange 18 and secured adjacent to the wall.

Referring particularly to Fig. 5, it will be seen that I may provide a double bracket having two support flanges 18, one long and one short, and each provided with a U shaped bracket 28. With this arrangement the end of curtains on two rods may be carried around the support flange 18 and returned to a position adjacent to the wall wherein it may be secured by pins or stitching through holes 32.

A further adaptation of my invention is shown in Fig. 7 in which the U-shaped bracket 20 is formed simply by bending the end of the support flange 18 around so as to form the web 28 on the outer end.

Still another adaptation of my invention is shown in Fig. 8 in which the support flange 18 is mounted on the window frame by means of offset base flanges 34 extending from the upper and lower edges of the said flange 18.

It will be understood, of course, that all of the foregoing examples with the exception of that shown in Fig. 8 will require separate right and left hand embodiments.

In addition to the features previously discussed and emphasized, a further advantage of my invention relates to the ease with which the rod may be disengaged from the bracket. Since the locking element provided by the portion 22 is effective only on one side of the stud 14, the rod may be disengaged very simply and easily by lifting it to a point where it contacts the inturned portion 30 and thereafter rolling it free upwardly along the portion 24.

Since numerous minor variations of this preferred embodiment of my invention will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, it is not my intention to confine the invention to the precise form herein shown, but rather to limit it in terms of the appended claims.

Having thus described and disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A drapery rod support fixture having in combination, a bracket support flange, a web extending transversely from said flange, a U-shaped bracket spaced from and overlapping a portion of said flange throughout the length of said bracket, said bracket having a pair of upwardly extending portions, one said portion integral with and being supported along its length by said web, the other said portion constituting an arm spaced from said flange and being resiliently yieldable to pressure in a direction normal to the plane of said support flange, and means on said arm for locking a drapery rod end in said bracket comprising a portion on said arm projecting toward said support flange from the general plane of said arm.

2. A drapery rod support fixture combination comprising a flanged end of a curtain rod, a bracket support flange, a web extending transversely from said flange, a U-shaped bracket integral with said web spaced from and overlapping a portion of said flange throughout the length of said bracket, said bracket having a pair of upwardly extending portions, one said portion integral with and being supported along its length by said web, the other said portion constituting an arm spaced from said flange and being resiliently yieldable to pressure in a direction normal to the plane of said support flange, said flanged end of said curtain rod fitting into said U-shaped bracket, and means on said arm for yieldably locking said flanged end in said U-shaped bracket.

References Cited in the file of this. patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 325,491 Bower Sept. 1, 1885 1,089,550 Hannon Mar. 10, 1914 1,186,377 Choules June 6, 1916 1,428,972 Newell Sept. 12, 1922 1,494,874 Wolff May 20, 1924 1,581,805 Kirsch Apr. 20, 1926 1,726,884 Brown Sept. 3, 1929 1,743,608 Kenney Jan. 14, 1930 1,923,024 Kenney Aug. 15, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,873 Great Britain Dec. 6, 1890 

